Faculty and Staff: Informal Resolution Best Practices
The Office of Equity and Diversity invites all faculty and staff to participate in an opportunity for professional development, sponsored by an It's On US PA state grant.
- Expand your knowledge base and skill set related to:
- The dynamics of sexual/gender-based harassment/interpersonal violence
- Impacts of trauma on individuals and communities
- The informal resolution process in University’s Title IX program
- What makes a case appropriate or not appropriate for informal resolution
- Major stages and mechanics of the informal resolution process
- What happens if an informal resolution process breaks down
- The role of the facilitator: identifying conflicts of interest and bias
- Available campus resources for parties and facilitators
Presented by Maureen Holland, Esq. and Peter Lim, Esq. from the Cozen-O'Connor law firm in Philadelphia.
Maureen Holland, Esq.: A partner in Cozen O’Connor’s Institutional Response Group, Maureen's practice is focused on helping educational institutions improve policies, procedures, and systems for preventing and addressing sexual assault, interpersonal violence, stalking, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, hazing, and other forms of prohibited conduct under Title IX, the Clery Act, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, and other federal and state laws.
Maureen helps schools design and implement effective institutional responses that integrate the complex federal and state regulatory framework with the unique dynamics of sexual and gender-based harassment and the impacts of interpersonal violence on individuals and communities. She provides hands-on assistance developing policies and procedures, conducting investigations, serving as an external decision-maker, and developing and delivering training programs in compliance with Title IX, Clery, VAWA, and related laws.
As an attorney in IRG, Maureen served as Interim Title IX Coordinator at Baylor University, helping to build Baylor’s Office of Institutional Equity; and Interim Director of Investigations at a large state university, restructuring their intake and investigative processes. She currently leads a team of IRG attorneys who serve as equity consultants for Michigan State University, reviewing policies, procedures, and closed investigative cases each academic semester and reporting on legal compliance and effective practices as part of the University’s agreement with the Office for Civil Rights.
Maureen regularly delivers comprehensive training on federal compliance and effective practices for Title IX coordinators, investigators, and decision-makers.
Peter Lim, Esq.: Peter advises colleges and universities nationwide on Title IX, the Clery Act, and other laws that apply in the higher education context. He helps develop Title IX policies and protocols to ensure compassionate, consistent, and balanced responses to incidents of sexual and gender-based discrimination and also conducts investigations involving allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and other forms of prohibited conduct. Peter assists colleges and universities in conducting hearings as either a decision-maker or legal adviser; routinely delivers trainings on Title IX-related federal compliance; and has facilitated the informal resolution of a wide variety of sexual misconduct matters.
Prior to joining the firm, Peter served as a senior Title IX investigator at the University of Pennsylvania and prosecutor in the Special Victims Unit at the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. While at Penn, he managed a wide variety of sexual misconduct matters involving students and faculty, was a member of the initial assessment response team, served on the restorative justice steering committee, and helped develop Penn’s eight-part educational program for students who violated its sexual misconduct policy.
During his nine years as a prosecutor in the Homicide & Family Violence and Sexual Assault Units at the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, Peter gained extensive jury trial experience handling criminal matters involving sexual violence and homicide. As a senior sex-crimes litigator, he prosecuted cases involving alcohol-facilitated sexual assault and provided trainings to other prosecutors on medical and forensic evidence. In addition, Peter taught advanced interviewing techniques to forensic interviewers at the Philadelphia Children’s Alliance and trained social workers at the Department of Human Services how to properly respond to allegations of child sexual assault and issues related to teenage recantation. In 2013, Peter received the prestigious Lynne Abraham Prosecutor Award for Exemplary Services and Support to Victims and Witnesses of Crime.
Peter is co-chair of the firm’s Asian Attorney Resource Group and a member of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of California at San Diego and earned his J.D. from Temple University Beasley School of Law.
